Verizon to cease data package requirement on new 3G feature phones

We’re not sure why the Verizon Wireless news always seems to appear on Friday afternoon… but it does. One of our VZW ninjas sent us in a memo (pictured above) that was distributed to select Verizon Wireless employees today. The communication details that beginning in Q4, Verizon will start to phase out the “3G Multimedia device” category and discontinue requiring a $9.99 monthly data plan on the new 3G feature phones being released to replace said devices. 3G multimedia phones that have already launched, like the LG EnV 3, will still require said plan until they are phased out. Good news for those who want a 3G feature phone with a full QWERTY keypad but not a monthly data plan. Aside from the feature phone news, the memo also reiterates that Verizon will be launching 4G, LTE data cards in Q4 (which we already knew). There you have it. Thoughts?

The issue is stupid people. Unfortunately the masses do not understand that if it isn’t a voice call and it isn’t a message, it uses the internet (data). This will cause more overages than money saved.

Sam

How so? Its the job of the employees to educate the masses on what you need for the phone to be used to its fullest at the time of purchase. If the customer refuses data then ask if he/she wants a block on any data. Have them sign/initial the legal agreement where it is highlighted and your done.

Randall

I agree completely about the education peice. Unfortunately it doesn’t happen enough for many reasons. The masses typically don’t even understand what the internet is. Most of them have a primitive understanding that Google is the internet.

vzw

What about the thousands of people who purchase their phones online? Who is going to educate them? But they are still going to come into the stores to bitch at the rep that Verizon is screwing them.

Dale

VZW,

As for who’s responsible for informing the online buyers…It’s up to the retailer to post the information on their website and it’s really up to the customer to read and understand the T&C’s.

Most online cell phone retailers do have the option for live chat and questions can be answered there.

As for people going to the local VZW store and chewing out the rep…It’s VZW who’s responsible for the T&C’s, not the online retailers, and it’s easier to go to the local VZW store to complain if the issue is VZW’s…

Jarrett

The iPhone rocks with or without 3G!!!!! And with the poor reception on my iphone4, it’s usually without 3G. But the iphone5 is gonna rock!!!!

Josta

Seems like VZW is feeling the heat from its competition. Sprint posts positive net subscribers and all of a sudden VZW starts doing things they never did before. UNLIMITED talk/text $69.99 on verizon?? No data pack required?? Who would’ve ever thought the day that VZW starts to play catch up??

shellll

except you will have all or nothing, you will be able to pick a intensity 2 or a smart phone for the most part. They are not going to want to make higher end keyboard phones because internet on them suck and the industry is going toward internet. It is just like how they phased out high end flip phones, i don’t consider a G’Zone Rock to be a high end flip just a rugged one.

Joe B.

Actually the $69.99 Unlimeted plan is only for Voice Calls it does not include Texting.

dano96

If you live in So Cal You can get Unlimited Text and Talk for 69.99, so far that is the only market that offers it.

grrr

I’m soooooo happy for the non-smartphone lines on my family plan. HURRAY!!!!!!!!

David

I’m happy for you. Too bad for me. I’ve already moved most of my lines away from VZW because of their mandatory data requirement. But it is probably best because I still would not pay $29 for unlimited data for a non-smart phone. Oh no, not a positive VZW comment, VZW employees, you know what to do. Start your down grade of this comment………..

Jackie

I’m right with you David…after 15+ years with Verizon, I’m going somewhere that cares more about the safety of my kids than their pocketbooks.

Jaded Rep

I love how every customer claims they have been a “Verizon” customer for 15+ years even though the company didn’t exist until April 2000…..

Jarrett

If you were a 5 year customer of Bell Atlantic or GTE as of June 30, 2000 (not April, son), then “every customer” that tells you that is correct.

But you knew all that.

Jackie

No, they were just someone else before that, Jaded Rep. Try reading the history of your own employer.

Perspective

This news comes out on a Friday afternoon because people across the country have already checked out for the weekend. It’s a common tactic; Friday afternoon is simply the best time to release bad news (if you’re the party doing the releasing).

Tony

Finally. They were assholes for doing it to begin with. I’m glad they are correcting themselves.

Sam

I totally agree.
These fu*k tards should of never mandated a dataplan for use on data centric devices. If a customer wants wireless data let them choose to do so.
There are enough wifi hotspots around now for the average user.

Now I hope at&t follows suit and implement the same.

Tony

This is for regular 3g phones. I think you misunderstood the post. Smart phones will still require data.

Chellykay88

@ Sam, Att doesn’t require data on feature phones, they just want ppl with qwerty phones to have unl messaging which makes sense. Why else get a phone like that?
But anyway, I’m glad vzw put an end to this. However, they should stop requiring it on existing phones.

Randall

Ohhhh so if you have a qwerty keyboard you have to have unlimited texting. So that makes sense but requiring an internet plan for phones w/ a full html browser and high data transfer speeds doesn’t make sense?

How about customers buy the phone that best fits there NEEDS and stop worrying about what phone there best friend has (and is willing to pay for)?

ItsMeBeaches

Well in all honesty i believe they should get rid of the unlimited text for quick messaging phones (as ATT calls them,) but i cant see how requiring a data plan on a feature phone makes sense to u? Also no one buys anything they NEED…everyone buys what they want, and everyone wants a nice phone. Just because someone wants a phone with a touch screen and keyboard doesn’t mean they want to use the internet on their phone.

I will also add this…I will be willing to bet that a vast majority of ppl that buy feature phones text a lot more than they browse the web. However i do agree its BS they make u get any kind of plan on a feature phone.

Randall

As an employee of VZW, I have seen far less data overage on accounts because of the mandated data plan. Most people have paid less on a monthly basis because of it.

Also, there is very little reason to have a touch screen device apart from browsing the web. I can only think of 2. Larger buttons and looking “cool.”

Jackie

maybe in your opinion Randall…but it should be up to the consumer who is paying the bill, not to have to swallow $10 of something they don’t want or intend ot use. Verizon really blew it this time by becoming data plan Nazis. And I hope their profits plummet as a result.

Joe B.

Randall is right. The average user on a 3G multimedia phone with Verizon consumes upwards of nearly 17MB’s. Without the $9.99 data plan this results in overages close to $34.00. People love to complain about the $9.99 data plan but don’t mind paying triple the cost in overages when their kids use their Env’s for data crap.

Ez

Well Here is my 2 cents on this, and these are probably 110% , 99% and 98% respectively :

1- AT&T is guranteed to follow the same route in a matter of days of not hours.

2-cost of data plans will be going up as 4g is sure to cost more
3- verizon iPhone is a step closer to being a reality

Tell mr I’m wrong??

ItsMeBeaches

Im so sick of hearing about this VZW iPhone? If Verizon was so desperate for the iPhone they would gotten it already, thats just what i believe…

From what i read lte is supposed to be more efficient, and cost effective, so the prices shouldn’t need to go up…doesn’t mean it wont go up, if it does it will be out of greed…also i don’t remember prices going up when 3g went live but i could be wrong about that.

ATT does not require data on feature phones, so unless u mean they will drop the requirement of unlimited text, then i would hope ur right, cuz i hate the idea of requiring anything on a phone…i would hope they drop the requirement of data on smart phones as well, but i know that wont happen…do u know how much data i used on my Captivate last month? 18MBs…and i have to pay for data…the only reason i use it at all is cuz its there, otherwise i dont need it, i feel robbed.

Steve Jobs

ME NOT RIKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Swagger

Hooray,more Verizon news.

Norm the VZW DROID Expert

You better believe it you poor Sprint employee

Randall

He’s not a Sprint employee. There is no such thing. Sprint doesn’t write his check, some 3rd party contractor might though.

Thomas J Penis

Or they are trying to phase out multimedia phones and get everyone on the smartphone bandwagon.

Bob Dole

You have the best name ever

The UNZippee

@EZ. Cost of data plans will not go up as LTE will not cost as much to impliment. Data plans will stay the same, and cell phone companies will be more profitable off of the existing prices they charge for data.

Randall

This is not completely accurate. The actual cost of data being processed is less, but the 5 billion a year going into the implementation of the network will need to be repaid. Share holders want a return on there investment.

Bill

I read the above totally different. To me, It does not say they are eliminating the $10 data for 3G phones, but eliminating that line. So there would be simple feature phones and Smartphones.

Scott

If you go to verizonwireless.com you can see that they have been adding new phones to the feature phone category that previously would have been in the multimedia phone category. So it isn’t that they are eliminating the line, but rather merging the multimedia and feature phone lines into the feature line and discontinuing the $10 mandatory data subscription.

Bill

It seems that will cause an uproar to those who are required to have data currently. And if i bring a 3GMM phone in to be activated say next June, it still requires a data plan. Time will tell.

John doe

What is the point of owning a captivate and not using data.. I have an evo and easily do over 4-5gb… I barely use the phone for talking at all.. Just sounds like over kill to own a android phone for just calls

tedkord

The point is it’s no one’s business what anyone wants to use his phone for. Just as it’s none of my business that you want data on yours.

Jackie

The point is maybe you like the phone for every other feature but don’t want a 13 year old having unlimited access to the internet and all the wonderful things they can be preyed on with there. If I can opt out of text messaging, then I should certainly be able to opt out of data if I want to.

Norm

maybe you should just be a good parent and you wouldn’t have to worry about a kid getting on the internet on their phone?

Jackie

Hey Norm…you have any kids? I’m betting not. I am a good parent and my kid is bright, moral, and responsible. He’s never given me a day of trouble, and I have no doubt if I told him not to use the internet on his phone, he wouldn’t. However, that doesn’t stop sick assho*es from trying to contact teenagers on FaceBook and ask where they live, or send pornographic links to them in “friend” requests…all of which I can monitor from my home computer, but can’t from a friggin’ cell phone.

Further why the hell would I pay for something I don’t want to use?

Get a clue, would you?

http://soundcloud.com/mygodcomplex MyGodComPlex

I agree with you Jackie about choice… But for your child to get contacted by those “sick assho*es” on FB, wouldn’t they have had to use the internet on their phone? Which would cost you 1.99 per MB without the data plan… And if your child got contacted on the web at home, and not on the handset, whet does that have to do with Norm’s point?

Dale

Jackie,

There are a few ways to “opt out”…Cancel the data portion of the phone, it won’t affect voice calling. Use the parental control option, or buy a basic phone for your kid.

PM

If you don’t want your kids to have data on their phone why not just get a phone that does not do data? When my daughter got her first phone I told her what she can get. I am the parent. I choose. Not her. If she doesn’t like what I pick she can wait until she is 18 and get her own service.

Jackie

Because the two phones Verizon offered me with a QWERTY that didn’t require data were crap. I researched them thoroughly. They certainly weren’t any “upgrade” – even the Verizon rep admitted they have issues with static. Gee, let me commit myself for two more years to a company that wants me to pay $50 for a piece of crap.

Mike

LAST!

test

not

matt

i used to work for vzw and i can tell you what the thinking is here! they want to go into 2 categories. smart phone = 29 data plan and simple feature phones no data req.. also look closely at the prices 450 min for 40, 900 min for 60, but unlimited mintues for 70. they also plan on cancelling the 60 900 min plan. so essentially you will have unlimited minutes plan 60 bucks and a non unlimited plan for 40 bucks.

2 price plans 2 phone categories very simple.

Bad@$$

He’ll yeahhhhhhhhhhh bitchhhhes

Jackie

is this for real? Because a call to Verizon tonight told me “nope, we are still requiring data plans.”
Certainly this rep could just have not received the memo yet; the way Verizon operates, nothing surprises me with them.

After 15 years with Verizon, this has become a deal breaker for me, and I’m looking for another carrier.
I have a teenager for whom I bought an EnvTouch last year, and didn’t have to take data. The phone is malfunctioning, we’re two weeks out of warranty, and if I want to replace it with the SAME PHONE, they are telling me I have to add data. Beyond that fact that this is just bad business, I think Verizon should be strung up from the highest tree for not giving parents the ability to opt out of unlimited internet access on phones for their kids. So, if what you are saying is true and Verizon has received enough screaming parents to realize how STUPID THEY ARE, then I will hold tight till October and not go through the hassle of moving four phone lines to another carrier.
Even though right now, I hate Verizon beyond belief.

Jaded Rep

there IS still a way around it to this day. I work for Verizon and know this for a fact. They just don’t show us how to take it off of an acct once the system automatically puts it on the line, only the employees that dig a little deeper and tinker with the system know that the data plan on a 3g mulitmedia device can actually be removed. Keep calling Customer Service until you get someone that knows what they are talking about. I’d hate to lose a customer because of some of our reps ignorance

Jaded Rep

btw this is done by removing the 9.99 feature while simultaneously adding the “pay per use MB” feature during a feature change

Jackie

I have spoken now to four reps (two in store, two on 611), one store manager, and one very testy 611 manager…none of them were willing to do anything to keep my four line account, even after my having been with Verizon over a decade.

What happened with me is I went into the store, my kid picked out another phone (Samsung Reality) and the rep said NOTHING about the data plan, just allowed me to extend my contract the two years, added the data on, and said not a word. An hour later, the new phone received a text message about the new data plan. I returned to the store and this is when they dropped the bombshell on me. Needless to say I was furious, I demanded they take the phone back, reinstate his old, gasping EnV Touch and put my account back where it was (which was without the data plan since when we bought the Env last September, they did not require the data.) This took over an hour as they conveniently forgot to reset my contract date as well!

I told the store manager that I KNOW they can disable the data; obviously since they did to put my OLD EnV Touch back on. He admitted that it is nothing more than a flip of a switch, but they wouldn’t budge. If I want a new phone, I have to take data.
I even offered to buy another EnV Touch (instead of the new Samsung) to replace the bad one for FULL PRICE (not changing anything on my account) but they said I still would have to take the data plan if I activated the new phone.

Unfortunately, Jaded Rep, you are one of probably very few who work at Verizon who want to actually please the customer. I have yet to run across one of you, and as such, if this data plan issue does not go away come October, I’m gone.

JODON

It’s funny because a month ago I upgraded a customer from an ENV Touch to another Env Touch (don’t ask) and lo and behold I did the extra 5 seconds of work and took the data off. The customer was even WILLING to pay the data if they had too. It isn’t about the bottom line. Happy customers help the bottom line. I’m so glad to see this crap going away. I can finally update my Env 2.

go to hell

shut the fuck up.

Jackie

Wow, I looked for a web site that gave information about an issue with Verizon and get urged to kill myself because I was asking for clarification. DreamsCanCumTrue, you are EXACTLY the sort of miscreant I try to protect my children against every day…trolls who crawl the internet because they have no life, no worth and no purpose on this earth other than to spread diseased ignorance.

vote blue

and i bet you think sarah palin is a national hero too. i think the guy you are weakly attempting to make fun of was right. go back to your suburbans and ptas and avoid the real world. better yet. just die.

long time vsw customer

wow thats all i can say is wow u talk bout keeping ur kids from sites like these and yet u r the one making a scene and acting like a child ur wats wrong with this world u sit in our house where ever that may be looking down at every1 thats not like you maby u should get off ur high horse and join us in the real world ppl that cant see past their own noses should keep to them selves

Chellykay88

@ Jackie
I agree with you 100% I have run into the exact same issue with customers. Especially with the enV. I feel so bad for ppl but my hands are tied. The enV 3 isn’t a smartphone and Shouldve never required data.

Lowell

The most amusing part of this is all of the customers who bought in to paying (or being raped) of these data fees. By all accounts, Verizon’s network is about as reliable as it gets… The issue is they have and preach a car dealership mentality. That bullshit translates in to everything they do, from the exec’s making phantom data fee’s excusable to the spikey haired douche canoe you have to deal with at the stores. Truth.

JODON

try an indirect store… most core store employees are tards.

Sonya

Smartest decision Verizon has made. I was really pissed they did that and I have a smartphone. At least they know when they fucked something up and not have some huge ego and act like what they did was perfectly fine.

Riley

your posts are always so insightful..you are a modern day Socrates

Bill

I fear you all are going to be back here Oct 1st when you find out what you THINK it is, is not it.

Jackie

I fear you are right, Bill. And if that is the case, I will be moving my lines elsewhere after all these years. This is the last straw, Verizon.

PAPINYC

Is this a reprieve for the poor suckers who have subscribed to VCast these many years, before they hit up’ those same subscribers with new raping charges?